Tingting Peng had been in banking for a few months when she started to feel miserable. She had landed an investment-banking analyst job at Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong straight out of college when she was 21 years old. The salary was great for someone her age -- US$50,000 base plus bonus -- but the job was all consuming. "After six months, I felt burned out," says Ms. Peng, who is now 26. Gradually her health began to suffer. One bout of flu morphed into another, with viruses and stomach bugs in between. "I was sick for weeks on end, but I would self-medicate and still go to work," says Ms.

Surfing and yoga are so much more than forms of exercise, they are a religion, according to actress Minnie Driver. Driver, who has appeared in films including Good Will Hunting and TV series such as Revisioned: Tomb Raider and Will and Grace, told website monstersandcritics.com that she cannot get by without riding the waves or practicing the Indian meditative poses. "My church is surfing and yoga. If I can get in a surf or practice yoga then I will. "Yoga's great for when you've got a full brain and can't stop the mind chatter," the 40-year-old said.

Since I'm a yoga instructor, I love to try out different types of yoga classes when I'm traveling. I've taken Jivamukti yoga classes before and really like the flowy movements and the spiritual side, so I was excited to try out a class while visiting some family recently. I'm so glad that this wasn't my first Jivamukti class, because I almost walked out halfway through. The instructor had an annoyingly low, monotone voice, the sequence of postures was really sporadic, and when she adjusted me in Rotated Triangle, she accidentally pushed me over.

Sally McGlone got involved in yoga several years ago as a way to treat back trouble.
Diana Sauser took a yoga class to supplement a fitness routine and as a way to stretch and strengthen muscles. "This is part of my way to get new control over my life," she said. Both women have embraced yoga, an ancient practice of mind and body movement rooted in 5,000 years of tradition that has become mainstream today.
Yoga classes are available all around the Quad-Cities, but McGlone and Saucer are enrolled in one at the Trinity Enrichment Center in Davenport.

You've heard of Hatha Yoga and Hot Yoga, now -- no joke -- there's Laughter Yoga, The Herald-Sun in Durham, N.C., reported. During a three-day workshop at Patanjali's Place yoga center in Durham, participants pretended to be laughing in an elevator, then laughing with friends, then whooping it up over imaginary tea and wine, the paper said. "I had so much energy," participant Hope Gregory told the newspaper. "It was joyful energy." Laughter Yoga was started by Madan Kataria, a doctor from Mumbai, India, and combines laughter, improvisation and yogic breathing, the Herald-Sun reported.

Hindu leader and statesman Rajan Zed says Jennifer Aniston's yoga practice is superficial. The Hollywood star, who is a huge advocate for the practice, is said to have only scratched the surface of what yoga really is, says Zed. What hot celebrity singer uses weed and yoga to heed off depression?, Zed issued a statement in Nevada today extending an invitation for Aniston to get more involved in her yoga practice by adopting Hinduism. "If Aniston needed any spiritual direction, I or other Hindu scholars would gladly provide it," Zed offered.

If you think that getting older is the beginning of the end, think again. Sure, skin loses some elasticity and joints get creaky, and maybe you can't keep your eyes open past 9:30 p.m. But even people well into their 80s are going to yoga and Pilates classes, volunteering, having sex and taking college courses. In short, getting older has its upside. Don't believe it?

CONFUSED by all the different styles of yoga out there? Check out our expert guide to the disclipline and get tips on how to find the right yoga teacher for you. Hatha.- This yoga term covers a broad range of disciplines. Derived from Sanskrit, “ha” means sun and “tha” means moon. The focus of hatha yoga is on balancing energy. It features sequences linked to the breath and gentle, slow-paced classes. Benefits range from developing inner strength to improved flexibility and a calm mind. Hatha is a good introduction to yoga and helps manage anxiety or depression.